Sign



Aug. 5, 1941. s, wHl 2,251,386

SIGN

Filed July 23, 1957 INVENTOR i m/0rd [1 71 1'/ Mb ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 5, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Stamford White, Greenwich, Conn. Application July 23, 1937, Serial No. 155,203

. 6 Claims.

This invention relates to signs, such as display signs, road markers, road strips and the like, and more particularly to that type of sign which reflects light, for example, from the head light of a train or automobile.

One object of my invention is to provide a sign of this character which is of unusual brilliance, one which is durable, is adapted to withstand severe climatic conditions and further one which is simple and economical in construction.

In accordance with my invention, the sign comprises a backing of light difiusing material, and in contact therewith or slightly spaced in front thereof, numerous preferably relatively small, roundbodies of transparent material such as glass. The round bodies may be pear shaped, ellipsoids, cylinders with rounded ends or similar bodies with curved peripheral surfaces. In certain cases I may employ spheres, although not as effectively, and when I employ them, I prefer to space them slightly in frontal? the light diffusing backingh While they may be of any size, they are preferably small, a few thousandths of an inch, and need not be of uniform size nor uniformly spaced. The backing should be light diffusing rather than light reflecting or translucent, that is, the backing should be of nonshiny material. In certain cases, the round bodies may be slightly embedded in the backing, or the backing may be tangential to the surface.

I am aware that attempts have been made to embed glass spheres in a binder of light reflecting material, reliance being had on a multiple of reflection of the light inside the sphere. Such signs are unsatisfactory for the reason that a very small part of the incidental light follows a path of multiple reflection inside the sphere and further, the emerging ray is never parallei to the incident ra'y. Also, due to the difference in the velocity of lights of different color, the emerging ray is subject to marked aberration.

In accordance with the present invention, as

differing from the prior art, theemerging light I is light which has not been reflected from the inner or back surface of the sphere, but is light which has passed completely through the sphere and is reflected by the light diffusing surface in back of the sphere.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing which shows a number of embodiments and wherein- Figure 1 is a plan view of a roadside reflecting sign embodying one form of my invention;

Figure 2 is a greatly enlarged sectional view, partly in elevation, showing one form of my invention;

- Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, but

showing a modification; and

Figure 4 is a plan view showing a still further modification.

In Figure 1, l0 represents a sign which is mounted on a post Ill. The sign carries numerous round bodies l2 of transparent material arranged in S shape to represent a curve in the road. The sign l0 may consist of a board ll shown in Figure 2, which has been painted by a light diffusing material l3, in contact with which are the roundish glass bodies 12 which may, if desired, be slightly embedded in the backing l3.

In Figure 3, the round or roundish bodies may be spaced from the light diffusing backing 15, as indicated at 30 or may be tangential thereto as indicated at 3|, or slightly embedded therein as indicated at 33. The backing l5 may be a white or red paint, and the bodies I2 are held in position by a coating of any suitable transparent material 16 such as shellac. A convenient method of forming such a sign is to first paint the backing i5 and allow to dry or partially dry; then ape ply the shellac and while wet, sprinkle the particles on the surface of the shellac and if desired, press them down by a flat plate.

In Figure 4, which is also greatly enlarged, the bodies 18 are cylindrical, preferably with rounded ends.

It will be noted that the elongated glass bodies shown in Figures 3 and 4 have their longitudinal axes or their longer diameters for the most part approximately parallel to the plane of the sign. The effect of this is to broaden substantially the spread of the reflected or emerging rays, that is,

the brilliance of the sign can be perceived not only when the eye is substantially in line with the source of light, but also when the line of vision makes a relatively great angle to the path of incident light. Also it may be noted that, in such construction, neither the path of incident nor that of the emerging rays are necessarily normal to the sign surface.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a sign or marker adapted to reflect light impinging on the sign normal thereto, the reflected light being diverging, a light diffusing backing of non-shiny material, minute elongated round bodies of transparent material in contact with said backing, said elongated bodies having their longer diameters extending in a general direction of the plane of the sign and a transparent binding material partly surrounding said bodies so as to hold them to the backing.

2. In a sign or marker adapted to reflect light impinging on the'sign normal thereto, the re- 4. A sign comprising a light difiusing backing,

a large number of round bodies at transparent material spaced in front or said backing and means for holding said bodies in said position.

5. A sign comprising a light diffusing backing, a large number of round bodies of transparent material spaced in front of said backing and transparent binding material on said backing in which said bodies are partially embedded.

6. A sign comprising a light difiusing backing, a large number of small roundish elongated bodies of different size and shape and of transparent material unequally spaced in contact with said backing, said elongated bodies being directed at random in approximately the plane of the sign and transparent binding material partly surrounding and holding said bodies to the backing.

STAMFORD WHITE. 

